Classroom Credibility
This topic is a nice change from the previous three process
type subjects (testing and test items).
It has been my experience that most instructional design models don’t
address the topic. Information on
presentation techniques and an instructor’s behavior are usually found in the
communications theoretical basis. The
goal for this blog is to acquaint you with the dimensions of instructor
credibility and provide you with methods to enhance it.
Prior Learning
My blog on the Introduction
to Communications Theory will act as a basis to build from. To make the most of this blog you need to
have a model of communication to reference and know the attributes and role of
the sender and receiver.
What is credibility?
Credibility refers to the objective and subjective
components of the believability of a source or message. Instructor credibility has to do with ability
to leverage personal conduct, social practices, professionalism, and contact
expertise to command attention and respect from the learners.
Why Does It Matter?
Research indicates that instructor credibility is one of the
most important instructor attributes affecting the instructional process (1). Applying Cognitive
Learning Theory, it has to do with our “executive control function”. The role of the executive control system is
to select incoming information, determine how to best process that information,
construct meaning through organization and inferences, and subsequently
transfer the processed information to long-term memory or choose to delete that
information from the memory system altogether.
In short if the message is not credible, we trash it. Therefore credibiliy directly affects students' effort and behavior; hence learning
The Dimensions of
Credibility
There are four major dimensions of instructor credibility:
trust, competence, dynamism and immediacy.
Trust is defined as "placing confidence in the
other". Trust must be earned through the pedagogical communication process
that teachers display with their students. Any violation of this trust can
potentially rupture the professional relationship that teachers need to
maintain if honest dialogues are to occur.
Competence involves more than simply being knowledgeable. It
involves a perception that others have of people concerning their degree of
knowledge on topics, abilities to command such knowledge, and abilities to
communicate this knowledge clearly. Teachers constantly face being evaluated
and tested by students, concerning their level of knowledge on a variety of
subjects.
Dynamism basically is the degree to which the audience
admires and identifies with the source's attractiveness, power or forcefulness,
and energy. This dimension correlates strongly to a person's level of charisma.
Immediacy is the level of distance both physical and
psychological between himself or herself and the student.
The following table is a compilation from various books and
articles of examples and suggestions for increasing one’s credibility by
dimension (see references below).
|
Trust
|
Competence
|
Dynamism
|
Immediacy
|
|
Adapting messages to listeners by being genuinely sincere and honest
in the presentation of information
|
Project an image of professionalism
|
Carry yourself with smooth movements and exude confidence
|
Demonstrate openness to learners
|
|
Always follow up with learners and keep promises (real or implied)
|
Identifying strengths and weaknesses in information (e.g.,
reliability, biases) to demonstrate the speaker's honesty in presenting
messages
|
Demonstrate a relaxed and comfortable posture (don’t slouch)
|
Show respect for all learners
|
|
Introducing sources (which may be trusted by students) used to
develop class material
|
Seek feedback about yourself
|
Develop a powerful style of speaking that uses few verbal or vocal
hesitancies
|
Accept differences of opinion and experiences
|
|
Explaining the soundness of the evidence that can help to reinforce
trust between teacher and student
|
Familiarize yourself with the training material and content
|
Vary physical movements to complement the message
|
Provide all learners with equal amounts of attention and avoid
favoritism
|
|
Earning trust by showing trust towards students in the educational
process
|
Describe your professional and academic credentials (but don’t brag)
|
Use gestures to describe and reinforce
|
Avoid inappropriate humor
|
|
Admit mistakes of lack of knowledge and apologize if necessary and
appropriate
|
Prepare, Prepare, prepare for training delivery
|
Use a variety of evidence, stories, visual aids, that add interest to
the message
|
Establish eye contact with the entire class by periodically scanning
the entire class
|
|
Demonstrate acceptable social practices
|
Answer questions accurately and thoroughly
|
Avoid a monotonous communication style
|
Smiling to disarm and relax students
|
|
Handle sensitive issues discreetly
|
Use appropriate terminology and avoid jargon
|
Speak in color, expressing life, emotion, and animation
|
Attempt to reduce distance when possible by moving or away from
barriers (e.g., desks podiums)
|
|
Demonstrate consistency in your works and actions during training and
outside of training
|
|
Have a strong ending
|
|
As the adage goes, you only get one chance to make a first
impression. So don’t waste it!
In my opinion, the good practice of gaining your audiences’
attention by stating an “interesting fact or surprising statistic” gets abused
by just spouting facts. I think of our
typical safety meeting that starts with some obscure statistics about how many
“whatevers” happen every year. I guess
they forget about the interesting and surprising part.
I think Heath & Heath(1) suggest a better alternative “When
we’re trying to build a case for something, most of us instinctively grasp for
hard numbers. But in many cases this is exactly the wrong approach.” Let the
learner test your ideas. Instead ask a
simple question that allows the learner to test for themselves.
Now you have it – now
you don’t
I think one of the results of the information rich society
is that our learners are less impressed by credentials. Allgeier suggests, “Your position, status, or roles
in life have nothing to do with your personal credibility factor. Different
people play different roles in their careers, jobs, and other activities—and
some are roles of very high authority—however, there’s no lasting connection
between higher status/power and personal credibility (2).” You
gain or lose credibility through your behavior.
Instructor credibility must be earned in the classroom.
Make a Plan
Credibility is one of 14 competencies identified by the
International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction
(IBSTPI). Ask one of your peers to
review the competency dimension table above and identify an area you can
improve in. Set a SMART goal to improve
that area.
Happy Holidays!
Cj
(1 )Heath, C. & Heath, D. (2007) Made to Stick; Why Some
Ideas Survive and Others Die. Random House Publishing. New York, New York.
(2) Allgeier Sandy. (2009) The Personal Credibility Factor,
The How to Get It, Keep it, and Get It Back (If You’ve Lost It. Financial Times
Press. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
King Stephen, B. King Marsha, and Rothwell William, J.
(2001) The Complete Guide to Training Delivery: A Competency-Based
Approach. American Management
Association. New York, New York
Haskins, W. (2000, March 3). Ethos and pedagogical
communication: Suggestions for enhancing credibility in the classroom. Current
Issues in Education [On-line], 3(4). Available: http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume3/number4/.
Zhang, Qin (2009) Perceived teacher credibility and Student
Learning: Development of a Multicultural Model. Western Journal of
Communications. Vol 73, No. 3, July-September 2009, pp. 326-347
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